Former House Speaker Jim Wright died early Wednesday. He was 92 years old.
The Texas Democrat served in Congress for 34 years. He was the first House speaker in history to step down because of an ethics scandal after he was charged for violating House rules on gifts and outside income.
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Wright resigned under pressure in 1989, decrying the “mindless cannibalism” of Congress.
In his 28 months as House speaker, he focused on trade, health care, raising the minimum wage and ending aid to anti-communist Nicaraguan rebels. He was also the author of the Wright Amendment, a 1979 law protecting Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. It was repealed in 2014.
After his resignation, Wright gave lectures, wrote books and taught a government course at Texas Christian University. Before his death, he battled two bouts of cancer.
(h/t USA Today)
